On May 14, the Russian army destroyed the National Gene Bank of Ukraine, one of the largest gene banks in the world, containing the DNA of over 150,000 different crops and plant species. 

Russia and Ukraine have been at war for the past 3 months. Russia declared war against Ukraine on the 24th of February, 2022.

The war was first started by Vladimir Putin, who declared that he would “demilitarize and de-nazify Ukraine”, which many experts interpreted as Putin acting on his own feelings. 

Additionally, Putin added that his aim was to protect the citizens of Ukraine from what he called “bullying and genocide by the Ukraine government.” 

This statement by Putin was also undermined by experts as his argument about the Ukrainian government being inhuman was baseless, which enforced the experts’ argument that he was acting on his own feelings. 

However, Putin continued to spread his propaganda until he finally declared war on Ukraine. 

When the war started, many politicians argued that Putin’s decision was not wise and that he should reconsider the necessity of invading Ukraine. 

Even the citizens of Russia protested for the war to end, but they are being silenced by the Russian government. 

During the war, the Russian army’s actions caused huge controversy throughout the world. Many of their acts became the main headlines of famous newspapers. 

This is because the Russian army deliberately attacked and killed civilians. This is an unequivocal war crime and many countries are taking this issue very seriously. 

The Russian army also committed several more war crimes, such as deliberately bombing hospitals, emergency shelters for civilians, and other buildings that, when attacked deliberately, are classified as war crimes.

A key controversy emerged on May 14th, when a video taken by a PGRU (Plant Genetics Resources of Ukraine) scientist, Sergey Avramenko, was posted on the internet showing the remains of the National Gene Bank of Ukraine, who claimed that it was a purposeful bombing by the Russian army. 

This has caused huge controversy as it was one of the largest gene banks in the world, a project that was established in the 1990s. 

This meant that DNA captured from different plants over 30 years was destroyed. This also meant that Ukraine now had no ability to regain from this loss. 

This bombing could also cause a food supply shortage in Ukraine in future years as many farmers used the Bank in order to create new and efficient crops to grow, in addition to ordering seeds when crops failed. 

However, as the war raged, many different countries contributed to the military power of Ukraine to aid them in winning the war. 

The countries include Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Netherlands, UK, US and more. 

Some of these countries contributed to the economic power, military power, and supply chain of Ukraine. 

Some countries also interfered directly with Russia’s economic system by stopping the import of valuable goods from Russia such as oil and jewelry. 

However, Ukraine is not solely relying on the help of other countries. 

The current Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, explicitly expressed his passion for the country by going to the frontlines of the battle, risking his life in the process.

This action taken by the president of Ukraine has inspired many people to volunteer and join the Ukraine army to fight Russia. 

During the course of the war, a significant amount of weapons and vehicles were used, and many lives were lost. More lives are being lost every day, with a total death count of around 2500-3000 soldiers and 3000 civilians.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yoojoon Song

Year 10

Dulwich College Seoul